Dear colleagues:
I am pleased to announce the reorganization of the Office of Academic Affairs as we look to better serve the rapidly changing needs of our growing School of Medicine faculty. With this realignment, we can help create a robust faculty primed for success in the coming years.
First, to provide more individualized support for academic personnel, we have divided the existing faculty development role into two positions to more effectively address the unique development needs of senate and non-senate faculty.
Second, we have created a new Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (Senate) position, for which we are now actively recruiting. The person in this position will work with academic affairs staff to ensure timely and accurate review and processing of academic appointments, advancements, and promotions for all senate faculty and for non-HS clinical, non-senate series. Faculty interested in applying for this role are encouraged to read more about the position and the application procedure here. Please submit applications by July 1, 2020. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed, and the successful applicant will begin the role August 1, 2020.
With regard to the two faculty development positions, I am pleased to announce that Brian Cummings, PhD, and Nimisha Parekh, MD, have been selected as Associate Deans for Faculty Development - Senate and Non-Senate, respectively. Cummings’ appointment was effective May 1, 2020 and Parekh begins in her new role September 1, 2020.
Currently a professor and vice chair for research for the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation with the School of Medicine and a member of the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, Cummings studies the mechanisms of recovery mediated by human stem cell transplantation after spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury. A lifelong Pittsburg Steelers fan, Cummings believes science can find a way to protect athletes and soldiers exposed to brain injuries. Cummings earned his PhD in psychobiology from UCI. He also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in mind aging in the lab of Carl Cotman in the Department of Neurobiology & Behavior at the UCI School of Biological Sciences.
Parekh will work closely with Cummings on faculty development, focusing on non-senate faculty. She will continue in her role as director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at UCI Health and as clinical professor of medicine at the School of Medicine. Parekh earned her medical degree and completed her internship and internal medicine residency at Tulane University. She completed a gastroenterology fellowship at University of Texas Southwestern followed by advanced training in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease at the University of Chicago.
In their new roles, Cummings and Parekh will collaborate with department chairs on maintaining and developing programs to improve faculty success and retention such as orientation sessions for new faculty, ongoing support for assistant professors, and the creation of faculty development and wellness initiatives. They will also develop mentorship programs and serve as liaisons with the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, the ADVANCE program, Vice Chancellor of Diversity & Inclusion, and campus academic personnel in all aspects of faculty recruitment and retention. This will include working to strengthen faculty diversity, including equity for women and underrepresented minorities, and assisting the Dean, the Vice Dean for Faculty & Clinical Affairs, and me with regard to special projects directly affecting the clinical faculty.
Our sincere appreciation goes to Lari Wenzel, PhD, who was an integral part of our team as Acting Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Dean for Faculty Development. Wenzel will continue to conduct health-related quality of life and patient-reported outcomes research in the Department of Medicine and the Program in Public Health.
Please join us in congratulating Brian Cummings and Nimisha Parekh on their new roles.
Sincerely,
Geoffrey W. Abbott, MSc, PhD
Senior Associate Dean, Academic Personnel
UCI School of Medicine |
